The Manhattan Project--2016 A to Z Theme

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Time Travel ( #atozchallenge )

The films that I'll be listing in my April postings will not necessarily be films that I'd call my favorite films, but they will be favorites in the genres I'll be naming. The A to Z genres are very specific micro genres as opposed to the broader genres like action, romance, or comedy.

I imagine a few of you probably figured I'd be going for the time travel genre for the letter T. It's the obvious choice right?Here are some of the ones I've enjoyed:

The Terminator (1984)--This film starts out a franchise which is outstanding all the way. I love them all. Smart scripts and great action.

Back to the Future (1985) --The whole series is great. The first installment is a film that's fun and funny and highly imaginative.Time Cop (1994) -- My wife loves this film and so do I. We are big Jean-Claude Van Damme fans.Time Changer (2002)--This low-budget film concerns a professor from the 1890's who travels forward to modern day Los Angeles. Comic situations are blended with serious issues. I appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do here.The Jacket (2005)--This is one of those films I need to watch again because I don't remember it much. I recall liking it a great deal and I gave it the highest rating on Netflix. Yeah, I need to see this again.

Deja Vu (2006) -- This is kind of a mind-bender with some interesting implications. I liked it--with reservations. It's a film that made me think.

Crusade: A March Through Time (2006)--Also known as Crusade in Jeans, in this film a teenage boy goes back in time to change the outcome of a soccer game where he has screwed up, but instead ends up about 800 years in the past where he joins up with the misguided members of the Children's Crusade. I thought the issues of being sent back to that time were fairly well done. Well, maybe not language wise, but that's often a problem in time travel films.Timecrimes (2007)--This is a Spanish film that is available in a dubbed version that works very well as such. A man who witnesses a crime goes back in time to prevent it and finds more complications than he expected. This one may have you trying to figure out the conundrum presented. I'd heard this was going to be made into a U.S. version in English but I'm still waiting.

Source Code (2011) -- This is another film with enough twists to turn your brain into a pretzel. Fun and action packed.

Oh, I know I left out a bunch--talk to me. Do you like my choices? What do you think makes a time travel story work best?

45 comments:

Never heard of Time Changer.Terminator II was my movie pick today. The first three all revolved around time travel. Source Code was also an excellent film.Last year's Looper was one of the best time travel films I have ever seen. Smart movie.

The art of time travel is something honestly that I fear but some amazing films have been made out of it so I can't complain, Back To The Future was so good! I guess that the third Harry Potter film could count as a time travel film to an extent, the plot very heavily centres around time travel in the latter half of the film.

Back to the Future, all three parts, are my absolute favourite time travel films. In most films, the producers seem to embark on the sequel once the original starts to make money. They then make a film that's miles away from the original, without any concern about connecting elements. But in Back to the Future, it was as if the makers had scripted all films together before getting into production. There is that kind of attention to detail. As a viewer, you never get an opportunity to feel smug at the stupidity of the filmmaker. I can watch BTTF any number of times.

I am not a big fan of Time Travel,mainly because it tends to be science fiction which isn't my genre but for some reason I like the cheesy "The Time Machine" 1960 film.And, I did enjoy the First "Back to the Future"Lucy from Lucy's Reality

I love time travel movies! But ahem! JJ Abrams Star Trek!!!! Don't mean to yell, but it's just such an amazing film. I've seen most of your picks, all excellent choices. I'd also add Star Trek IV, the one where they have to go back in time and save the whales. Best one of the series.Tina @ Life is GoodCo-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

My two favorites would be the (aforementioned) trilogy 'BACK TO THE FUTURE'. ...Incidentally, I think I'm the only person whose very favorite installment of that trilogy was the second. I LOVED all that going back and forth and trying to keep it all straight in my mind!

Also, I want to say that Cynthia's comment above, about 'BACK TO THE FUTURE' is spot-on! She nailed it, and I have thought that same thing many times. That is one trilogy that was conceived as an authentic trilogy (not an opportunistic, after-thought, money-making scheme), and so the three parts are woven together seamlessly.

My other favorite 'Time Travel' movie is the great romance 'SOMEWHERE IN TIME' (1980), starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. I thought that was terrific; my kind of movie, which I have seen probably four times.

I really like all of your pics that I have seen. BTF is excellent fun. De Ja Vu and Source Code were amazing. I liked The Lake House for a romantic time travel film. I also liked Somewhere In Time. The Terminator was an excellent adventure time travel series. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure could also fall into this category. I really like Time Travel films.

The Back to the Future series will always be my favorite time travel movies for nostalgic reasons. They are so fun, inventive, and memorable. I loved how time travel was explored in JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot. Great way to get Old Spock in there :)

Just watching all these kinds of films with my 10 year old, he's hooked on Back to Future. We also enjoyed Bill and Ted excellent adventure, Timeline, and many more that I can't remember the names. A favourite dining conversation is, if we travelled back x number of years what would we do, and the more we think the more problems crop up and what ifs, what could go wrong, etc. It sure get his imagination going which is great.Good Post, thanks#atozchallengemaggie at expat brazil

The Butterfly Effect was the saddest time travel movie I have ever seen - at first, each time he sifted, I was so hopeful also, I have to mention The Jacket was superb. All that said, all it takes is a bar of two of music from the opening of Terminator and I'm hooked all over again.

Great list. I think Premonition may fit into time travel movies. I loved that movie. Butterfly Effect too. I think time travel movies work best when the characters fix important things in the past to make the future better.

My favorite time-travel adventure HAS to be Biggles, Adventures in Time. It is absolutely horrible, but I was a kid when I saw it and I will clutch those first impressions to my heart forever.

For me, a good time-based story is about getting control over something we can't control. SO then the chaos needs to come in someplace else and the best time-travel stories, in my opinion, bear poignant reminders about how our human lust for control is so brutally fickle. A story which dabbles in the impossible can only work if the impossible dabbles back.

Oh Yes...a perfect choice for the Letter T. Fantastic List...seen most of them...will NetFlix the others...thanks for the reviews. Back TT Future...huge fan. Love reading books on Time Travel, as well.

I haven't heard of half of these films, so it's something for me to look up... thanks for sharing.

There were a couple of films that I really enjoyed... maybe one was Oscar and Lucinda? travel forward from an Austrian duke to the present day, and another one involving some archaeologists going back in time to Medieval France and one of them staying, but can't remember.

And then there was Star Trek IV, the one where they go back to save the whales. Definitely one of my faves.

And the Time Traveler's Wife was good.

Arlee, thanks for commenting on my blog. I am still trying to catch up on comments and hopping.

Awesome time movie picks Lee! Loved the Terminator and Back to the Future series. Haven't seen some of your other selections. Jean Claude movies are fun. Does Minority Report count? Visions of the future, and flashbacks to the past? What makes a good time movie? Ones that make you think about the plot long after you left the theater. Fun post!

I've seen a few of the ones you mentioned. Back To The Future is a good family movie. I saw that someone mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife. Still haven't seen that one, but would really like to. I heard it was really good.

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